Apocalypse Explained, volume 3

729 Pages·2009·2.19 MB·English

by  Emanuel Swedenborg

Apocalypse
Explained
According to the spiritual sense
in which the arcana there predicted
but heretofore concealed
are revealed
A posthumous work of
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
Volume 3
(numbers 415–625)
Translated from the Original Latin by
John C. Ager
Revised by
John Whitehead
STANDARD EDITION
SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION
West Chester, Pennsylvania
© 2009 Swedenborg Foundation
This version was compiled from electronic files of the
Standard Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg as
further edited by William Ross Woofenden. Pagination of
this PDF document does not match that of the
corresponding printed volumes, and any page references
within this text may not be accurate. However, most if not
all of the numerical references herein are not to page
numbers but to Swedenborg’s section numbers, which are
not affected by changes in pagination. If this work appears
both separately and as part of a larger volume file, its
pagination follows that of the larger volume in both cases.
This version has not been proofed against the original, and
occasional errors in conversion may remain. To purchase the
full set of the Redesigned Standard Edition of Emanuel
Swedenborg’s works, or the available volumes of the latest
translation (the New Century Edition of the Works of
Emanuel Swedenborg), contact the Swedenborg Foundation
at 1-800-355-3222, www.swedenborg.com, or 320 North
Church Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380.
Contents
Editor’s Preface
Revelation 7
Revelation 8
Revelation 9
Revelation 10
Critical Notes
APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 1310
Editor’s Preface
This edition of Apocalypse Explained was translated by John C.
Ager and revised by John Whitehead. The text was electronically
scanned from the Swedenborg Foundation’s Standard Edition of
1911–1912. This process allowed the books to be completely reset
in a more readable typeface. It also allowed for updating certain
stylistic elements and for substituting contemporary spellings.
Arabic numbers have replaced the Roman numerals, and some of
the longer passages have been divided into paragraphs for greater
ease of reading. The Ager/Whitehead translation, however, has not
been materially altered.
Volume 3 of Apocalypse Explained continues Swedenborg’s verse-
by-verse exposition, or commentary, of the biblical text of the
Apocalypse, commonly known as Revelation or the Revelation of
John. This volume covers chapters 7 through 10. As was the
custom in his day, Swedenborg referred to the Psalms as the book
of David, and to the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy) as the books of Moses.
As with previous printings, the bold numerals in brackets, [2],
[3], etc., indicate divisions of Swedenborg’s longer numbered
sections that were added for the convenience of the reader by J. F.
Potts in his six-volume Swedenborg Concordance (London:
Swedenborg Society, 1888–1902). The numbers in parentheses (6),
(7), etc., are divisions of the exposition by the author. Italicized
letters following a number (518a, 518b) are subdivisions added by
the Latin editor, S. H. Worcester.
The critical notes were originally compiled by Worcester when he
edited the Latin text for a Latin-English edition of Apocalypse
Explained published by the Swedenborg Foundation between 1889
and 1897. These notes were used sparingly by Whitehead in this
English edition, principally in cases where some difference in
meaning is involved. All the notes, referenced by superscripts in the
text, will be found at the end of the volume.
William Ross Woofenden
Sharon, Massachusetts
APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 1311
Revelation 7
1. After these things I saw four angels standing upon the four corners
of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should
not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree.
2. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun,
having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a great voice to the
four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea;
3. Saying, Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.
4. And I heard the number of those sealed; a hundred and forty-four
thousand sealed out of every tribe [of the sons]1 of Israel.
5. Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of
Reuben twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand
sealed.
6. Of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of
Naphtali twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve
thousand sealed.
7. Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of Levi
twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand sealed.
8. Of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of
Joseph twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve
thousand sealed.
9. After these things I saw, and behold a great multitude, which no
one could number, out of every nation and all tribes and peoples and
tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in
white robes, and palms in their hands.
10. And crying with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto our God,
who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11. And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the
four animals, and they fell before the throne upon their faces, and
worshiped God.
12. Saying, Amen: the blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the
thanksgiving and the honor and the power and the strength unto our
God unto the ages of the ages; amen.
13. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These clothed with
the white robes, who are they, and whence came they?
APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 1312
14. And I said unto him, Lord, thou knowest. And he said unto me,
These are they who come out of the great tribulation, and have washed
their robes and have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.
15. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and they serve Him
day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall
dwell over them.
16. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall
the sun fall on them, nor any heat.
17. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall guide them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall
wipe away every tear from their eyes.
EXPOSITION
415. Verse 1. And after these things I saw four angels standing upon
the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that
the wind should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon
any tree. 1. “And after these things I saw,” signifies a new
perception as to the state of heaven before the last judgment (n.
416); “four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth,”
signifies the Divine proceeding from the Lord in the whole spiritual
world (n. 417); “holding the four winds of the earth,” signifies
moderation of its influx (n. 418); “that the wind should not blow,”
signifies that the good be not injured, and the evil be not cast out
before the day (n. 419); “upon the earth nor upon the sea nor upon
any tree,” signifies everywhere in the spiritual world, even to its
ultimates, with those who have some perception (n. 420).
416. Verse 1. And after these things I saw, signifies a new
perception as to the state of heaven before the last judgment. This
is evident from what follows in this chapter, which treats of the
separation of the good from the evil; for before the last judgment
occurs the good are separated from the evil by the Lord, and are led
away; and because this is involved in the things that were seen, so
all this is here signified by “after these things I saw.”
417a. Four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth,
signifies the Divine proceeding from the Lord in the whole spiritual
world. This is evident from the signification of “angels,” as being
APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 1313
the Divine proceeding from the Lord (see above, n. 130a, 200,
302); and from the signification of “the four corners of the earth,”
as being the whole spiritual world; for “the four corners” signify the
spiritual world because there are lands there as well as on our globe;
for there, as here, there are mountains, hills, rocks, plains, valleys,
and other things, as has been several times said above; and as the
last judgment on all in the spiritual world is treated of in
Revelation, and here the separation of the good from the evil there,
therefore “the earth” means that world. “The earth” signifies the
church, as has been frequently said before, because the face of the
earth in the spiritual world is exactly like the face of the church
with the spirits and angels there; the face of the earth is most
beautiful where the angels of the higher heavens dwell, and also
beautiful where the angels of the lower heavens dwell, but
unbeautiful where evil spirits dwell; for where the angels dwell
there are paradises, gardens, flower beds, palaces, and all things in
heavenly form and harmony, from which enjoyments flow and
inmostly delight the mind; but with the evil spirits all places are
marshy, or stony, or barren, and they dwell in huts of a vile
appearance, and also in caverns and caves.
[2] This has been said to make known that “the earth,” in the
nearest sense, means the spiritual world; nor could any other earth
appear to John, since it was seen by him when he was in the spirit;
and when man is in the spirit he sees nothing on our globe, but
only what is in the spiritual world. This is why John saw four
angels, and these were standing upon the four corners of that earth.
There were four angels seen, because these standing “on four
corners” signify the Divine proceeding from the Lord in the whole
spiritual world, for the four quarters, namely, the eastern, western,
southern, and northern, constitute the whole of that world, for that
world is thus divided; and those who are in the good of love to the
Lord dwell in the eastern quarter, likewise in the western, the
former in clear because interior good of love, the latter in obscure
because exterior good of love; those who are in the clear light of
truth dwell in the southern quarter, and those who are in the
obscure light of truth in the northern. (But on these quarters see in
the work Heaven and Hell, n. 141–153, where they are treated of.)
And because all things have reference to the good of love and to the
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truth from that good, or in general to good and truth, therefore
these four quarters also mean all things of heaven and the church.
These quarters are meant also in the Word by “the four winds,”
and here by “the four corners.” It is evident, therefore, that the
angels were not seen standing on the four corners of the earth, but
in the four quarters. The quarters are called “the four corners”
because “corners” signify the outermost parts, and the outermost
parts signify all things, because they include all.
[3] That “corners” signify quarters is evident from the passages in
the Word, where quarters are designated as “corners,” as in the
following. In Moses:
Thou shalt make for the tabernacle twenty boards for the south
corner southward. And for the second side of the tabernacle, towards
the north corner, twenty boards (Exod. 26:18, 20; 27:9, 11; 36:21, 23,
25).
“For the south corner” means for the southern quarter; and
“towards the north corner” means towards the northern quarter,
for there were twenty boards for each side. So in Ezekiel:
Next the border of Dan, from the east corner even to the west
corner, Asher one. And thence next the border of Asher, from the east
corner even unto the corner towards the west (48:1–8).
These shall be the measures: the north corner four thousand and
five hundred, and the south corner the same, and from the east corner
the same, and the west corner the same, next the border to the east
corner towards the west (48:16, 17, 23–28, 33, 34; also 47:17–20).
In Moses:
Ye shall measure without the city the corner towards the east two
thousand cubits, and the south corner the same, and the west corner
and the north corner the same (Num. 35:5).
Also in Joshua (15:5; 18:12, 14, 15, 20). Here the east, south, west,
and north corners mean the sides towards the east, south, west, and
north quarters. This makes clear that the “four angels standing
APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 1315
upon the four corners of the earth” mean not upon its four corners,
but in its four quarters. So elsewhere in Revelation:
Satan shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four
corners of the earth (20:8).
[4] “Four corners” are mentioned, and not four quarters, because
“corners” also signify all things, since they are outermost parts, for
the outermost parts comprehend all things from the center to the
last circumferences, for they are the last borders. This is why four
horns were placed on the four corners of the altar, and upon them
the blood was poured, and thus expiation was made for the whole
altar (as is evident from Exod. 27:2; 29:12; 30:2, 3, 10; 38:2; Lev.
4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 16:18, 19; Ezek. 41:22; 43:20).
[5] That “corners” signify all things because the outermost parts
(for the reason stated above, that the outermost parts include and
comprehend all things) is clearly evident from some of the statutes
given to the sons of Israel, as:
That they should not round or shave the corner of their head (Lev.
19:27).
That they should not shave off the corner of their beard (Lev.
19:27; 21:5).
And that they should not wholly finish the corners of their field
when they reaped (Lev. 19:9; 23:22).
Why such statutes were given them cannot be known unless it is
known what is signified by “the hair of the head,” by “the beard,”
by “the field,” and also by “the corner”; “the hair of the head,” and
“the beard” signify the ultimate of man’s life, which is called the
corporeal sensual; and “field” signifies the church, and “reaping”
the truth of doctrine. By these statutes, therefore, it was represented
that the ultimates must be preserved because they signify all things;
for unless there are outermost things, the middle things are not
kept together, but are dispersed, comparatively as the interior parts
of man would be dispersed if he were not encompassed by skins. It
is similar in everything, thus in what is signified by “the hair of the
APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 1316
head,” by “the beard,” and by “the harvest of the field.” (That “the
hair of the head” signifies the outermost of man’s life, which is
called the corporeal sensual, may be seen above, n. 66; and that
“the beard” has a like signification, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 9960;
that the outermosts or ultimates signify all things in the complex,
thus the whole, n. 10044, 10329, 10335.) And as “a field” signified
the church, and “harvest” its truths, so “not to finish wholly the
corners of thy field when thou reapest” signifies the conservation of
all things that are signified by “the harvest of the field.”
417b. [6] That “corners” signify all things because they signify
outermost things can be seen also from the following passages. In
Moses:
I will hurl them into the extreme corners; I will make the
remembrance of them to cease from man (Deut. 32:26).
“To hurl into the extreme corners” signifies to be deprived of all
good and truth; it is therefore added, “I will make the
remembrance of them to cease from a man,” which signifies that
they would no longer have anything of spiritual life, which comes
to pass when man is merely in the ultimates of life, called the
corporeal sensual, in which alone most of those are who acquire
nothing of spiritual life; for such then become not unlike the
beasts, for this is the kind of life beasts have, but with this
difference, that as man is born a man he is able to speak and to
reason, but this he does from the fallacies of the senses, or of the
outermost things of nature, of the world, and of the body; this is
what is meant here by “being hurled into the extreme corners.”
[7] In Jeremiah:
Their camels shall be for a prey, and the multitude of their cattle
for a spoil; and I will disperse them unto every wind among the cut off
of the corner; and from all the passages thereof I will bring calamity
(49:32).
This is said of the devastation of Arabia and Hazor by the king of
Babylon; and “Arabia” and “Hazor” signify the knowledges of good
and truth, and “the king of Babylon” signifies evil and falsity laying